Game Night: Burros face Tahquitz in first round

The postseason has arrived. Burroughs faces Tahquitz on the road in the first round of the Southern Section Eastern Division playoffs on Friday night.

By Anthony GentileSPORTS EDITORagentile@ridgecrestca.com

The postseason has arrived. Burroughs faces Tahquitz on the road in the first round of the Southern Section Eastern Division playoffs on Friday night."We've been on a roller coaster ride this season — right now you put your focus into one game at a time, and you're going to do what you have to do to win each game," Burros head coach Todd Mather said. "We're going to leave everything out there to try to get to the next round."The Burros will make a 157-mile road trip to Hemet — their longest of the season — to take on the Titans. Aside from the length of the trip, Burroughs (5-5) likes its matchup against Tahquitz (8-2), who finished second in the Mountain Pass League."Tahquitz kind of fits the style that we wanted to see," Mather said. "They're kind of like us — they have a handful of athletes and they are going to come out and compete."Burroughs' offensive game plan typically revolves around getting touches for Tyron Jones, and the do-it-all senior will have even more of the spotlight against Tahquitz. Jones will take between 35 and 40 percent of the snaps at quarterback against the Titans as part of a run-heavy offensive approach."It's a change-up, and it's very obvious that he needs the ball more," Mather said. "What Tyron did against Oak Hills from the backfield and at receiver proved that he's going to be tough to stop by anybody — he just needs the ball in his hands more. We don't have any tendencies with Tyron at quarterback because nobody has ever seen it."Jones won't just play quarterback on Friday night as a simple gimmick — he will run a scaled back version of the offense against the Titans' pressure defense. Jones will line up along with running back Trevor Baker in the backfield, and will get the chance to throw against Tahquitz."It's our regular run game with QB runs — you'll see a little bit more of the scheme blocked for Tyron," Mather said. "It's just about trying to find ways to create more touches for him, and this is going to do it."Jones' package at quarterback increased with last week's injury to starter Ryan Sanford, but Mather said the plan for the playoffs all along called for the Burros' playmaker to see snaps at the position. Sanford will play while dealing with a bone bruise on his right tibia that he suffered last week against Oak Hills. "He's already feeling better — he's icing it like crazy and seeing the chiropractor and doctor every day," Mather said.Burroughs believes that its offensive line can control the line of scrimmage against Tahquitz, a feeling that calls for a ground-oriented attack. The Burros' linemen have asked for a bruising offensive approach that features heavy doses of Jones and Baker. "They don't have a big, dominant front that we've played against, and I feel that we can run the ball on them," Mather said. "The run game is a lot safer, and we feel like we can win the battle at the line of scrimmage."On defense, Burroughs faces a Tahquitz spread offense that features a balanced attack with slightly more running than passing. Mather said that Burroughs has faced more dynamic and more physical offenses than the Titans' already this season.On the ground, Tahquitz's single-back run game features a lot of counter plays. The Titans averaged nearly 150 rushing yards per game in the regular season, and Mather said the Burros don't consider their ground game a big concern. "I don't feel that their run game is very effective at all — it's a 'keep teams honest' type of run game," Mather said. "We've seen at least six running backs that are better than their back between our preseason and league schedule."Where Burroughs' defense is concerned is when Tahquitz throws the ball. The Burros have struggled with pass coverage throughout the season, and are still trying to make adjustments headed into the postseason."We've charted all their route combos, and we've focused on how we will cover them when we are in our different coverages," Mather said. Tahquitz quarterback Nolan Valdez is an accurate passer, but the 5-foot-7-inch senior takes hitch steps before he throws that will allow Burroughs defensive backs to break on the ball. The Titans will throw against a Burros' secondary realigned due to an injury to starting cornerback Kyle Cornell — Baker will start at free safety, with Aaron Patin, Zach Springs, DQ Brown and Joe Humphrey splitting time at the two cornerback spots.Burroughs expects to see a few trick plays from Tahquitz on offense and special teams on Friday night — during the season the Titans' trick-play arsenal has included sweep passes, pitch passes, reverse passes, double reverses, fake punts and different extra point formations. The Burros plan to see trickery early on in Friday night's game."It seems like in big games they like to do it on the first play of the game, so we're expecting that," Mather said. "We have to be on our toes."The winner of Friday night's first round game will play the winner between top-seeded San Gorgonio and Hesperia in the second round. Burroughs will host either team if it can go to Tahquitz and deliver a victory. "It's going to be a close game — it seems like they play everybody close," Mather said.Burroughs plays Tahquitz on Friday night in Hemet in the first round of the Eastern Division playoffs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.